Imran Khan and his wife sentenced to 14 years in prison in a corruption case – Dagsavisen

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Khan’s party confirms the verdict and states that it will be tried to be appealed to the country’s highest court.

– This is another sad day in the history of the judiciary, says a spokesman for Khan’s party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Since August, Khan has been serving a three-year sentence for corruption. On Tuesday, he was sentenced to a further ten years in prison for leaking state secrets, and he is charged in around 150 other cases.

The 71-year-old himself denies having done anything wrong and claims to be the victim of a politically motivated witch hunt. According to him, the country’s powerful military is behind it, in close cooperation with the United States.

Distrust

Khan was elected prime minister in 2018, but four years later he was defeated in a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly.

On February 8, there are elections in Pakistan, but Khan is banned because of the previous sentence.

He is nevertheless considered an important actor with great grassroots support in Pakistan, and he often makes his mark with criticism of the country’s political establishment.

Choice

Around 127 million Pakistanis can vote in the election, and accusations of electoral fraud are numerous. A number of PTI activists have been arrested, and several of the party’s leaders have gone underground ahead of the election.

Khan urges voters to leave their homes on election day.

– You must take revenge for the injustice when you vote on February 8, he wrote on social media after receiving Tuesday’s verdict.

– Tell them that we are not sheep that can be chased with a stick, he wrote.

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